A university in Yunnan province is cracking down on campus drunkenness, and is threatening to send photos of inebriated students to parents - a proposal that has triggered debate among students and experts.

The controversy started after an eight-second viral video in which a campus announcement can be heard warning students that if they drink too much, their tipsy photos would be express mailed to parents.

Some netizens pointed out the video was taken at Yunnan Arts University. The university confirmed the video's authenticity and said the new policy was part of its campus safety education for the new term beginning in March.

"To guarantee a safe and stable campus environment, we organized safety education for students, including enhancing fire safety awareness, taking campus loans seriously, AIDS prevention, and banning drunkenness," said Zhang Yong, publicity head of the university's Party committee.

However, drinking remains popular at universities.

"It's a normal social requirement for us university students. Moderate alcohol consumption is acceptable, while bothering others when drunk is inappropriate," said Zhang Xian, a junior broadcast major at the university.

Students at Yunnan Agricultural University conducted research into campus drinking trends in 2011. It surveyed 503 students from five universities in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Results suggested that over 70 percent of students consumed alcohol, and nearly half had witnessed their classmates get in a fight after drinking.

The Law on Protecting Minors prohibits merchants from selling alcohol to young people, but does not specify the punishments for doing so. Moreover, most shops in China ignore the law.

"Our university must do this for our own good, but the consequence of sending drunken photos to parents is a bit excessive and implementation is unrealistic," said Wang Huijun, a sophomore acting major at Yunnan Arts University.

Zhang Xian said he believes the university's regulation is vague. "How do they judge whether a man is drunk or not? And if someone is drunk, who will come to take the photos?"

However, he said it is having an effect. "There are many bars near our university and I found fewer students go there these days," he added.